The Diplomat
The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday a Royal Decree to regulate the official recognition of Spanish Chambers of Commerce abroad.
The Royal Decree establishes that Chambers of Commerce that are freely established abroad in accordance with the laws of the countries in which they are based may be officially recognised by the Spanish State, through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, provided that they meet the requirements laid down and “with the aim of promoting the internationalisation of Spanish companies and defending the interests of their members”.
“This new procedure seeks to achieve the greatest efficiency in the fulfilment of the functions of the Chambers and the widest development of commercial and economic relations between the respective countries and Spain and, specifically, the promotion of Spanish exports and investments”, declared the Executive.
The text, which complies with the new requirements established in this area, also details the procedure for official recognition and the rights and obligations of the Spanish Chambers of Commerce and regulates the framework of relations between the State and the Chambers once they are recognised.
Spain currently has 42 official chambers of commerce in around forty countries, grouped together in the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, the public law corporation responsible for representing, promoting and defending the general interests of Spanish companies and representing the regional chambers of commerce before national and international authorities and institutions.
The Chambers of Belgium and Luxembourg, Romania, Germany, Portugal, United Kingdom, Malta, Italy, France, Morocco (Tangier and Casablanca), Tunisia, South Africa, China (Hong Kong and Beijing), Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines are represented by FEDECOM and those of the American continent (Paraguay), Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, Guatemala, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Nicaragua, Mexico, the United States (Miami and New York Chambers), Uruguay, Panama, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Chile, the Dominican Republic and Brazil) constitute FECECA. All of them are privately financed, through a network of partners that already groups together more than 9,000 companies throughout the world.
